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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26869546">Desperate Times</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/firelord65/pseuds/feckyeswriting'>feckyeswriting (firelord65)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Fecky's Whumptober Oneshots [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars Sequel Trilogy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Captured, Gen, Missions Gone Wrong, Post-Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Psychological Torture, Starvation, Whumptober 2020</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 19:07:24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,418</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26869546</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/firelord65/pseuds/feckyeswriting</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>They train the fighter pilots to be prepared in case something goes wrong in the skies. Rey and Jessika weren't ready for what could still happen on the ground.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Fecky's Whumptober Oneshots [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1950469</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Star Wars Multishippers, Whumptober 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Desperate Times</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Repeating the usual speal here, but this is a little shortfic for the Whumptober event. Just a oneshot, not a whole story. Hope you enjoy!</p><p>Day 6: Please... - "Get it Out" | No more | "Stop Please"</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Around the shipyard there were warnings and tales only exchanged in dark corners or the dead of the night. For all that the war with the First Order had only begun in earnest months past, war itself never changed. Many of those who Rey flew with had flown in the original rebellion against the Empire. They shared as much with the fresh faces as they could, even the parts that no one wanted to think about.</p><p>It was the old guard who suggested keeping a blaster under your seat, who requisitioned camouflage parachutes, who knew which wires to cross to get the astromech droids to blow the ship <em>just in case</em>. War never changed. The Order was the Empire was the Sith; the enemy would always try to take captives to squeeze for any scrap of intelligence.</p><p>In those whispered, unofficial briefings the pilots would give as much as they could to the others. Any knowledge they could spare then might save one of their fellows in the future, even if it hurt to speak about it.</p><p>And Rey had already seen the face of the Order's interrogation, or at least the face of Kylo Ren. She didn't laugh off the warnings like some did. They were fighting a war that needed to be won at any cost or else there wouldn't be anything left to save. Hosnia was evidence of that.</p><p>So Rey was cautious when she flew, even in the tiniest of firefights. Damaged engines could keep a fighter from making the jump to hyperspace with the rest of a convoy. Astromech droids were gold, at least the good ones were. Too slow on a repair? Best get yourself ready to use that jump seat button once you hit atmo.</p><p>Leaving herself to fate didn't much sit well with Rey. She maintained her droid fastidious and used every scrap of intel that made its way to the pilots to keep watch over herself and the others in the squadron.</p><p>It didn't much matter, though, when you were already on the ground. Rey and her partner had arranged a pickup of much needed power converters to replenish. As soon as they'd stepped out of the docking bay into the port, Rey felt that sickly feeling in her gut of unease.</p><p>"Let's make this quick," she insisted to Jessika. The young woman nodded tightly in agreement. There were no obvious signs of Order interference - no patrolling troopers, no banners emblazoned in red and black - which someone made the hair on the back of Rey's neck stick up even more so. They were <em>not</em> in friendly territory. So where was the opposition?</p><p>The streets were wide, friendly, and open. Rey trailed behind Jessika, keeping her head on a constant swivel. She tried reaching out with the Force as well, though without a clear direction it mostly made her head twinge in pain from the overload of all the people around. The intentions alone from those around were overwhelming. Focused, hungry, needy, bored, whiling away the hours, looking for someone - there were too many thoughts all coming from every direction. This wasn't a city that thrived on secrecy for the most part. These were folks just going through their day getting groceries and looking forward to the end of their task lists.</p><p>Their destination was tucked away from most of the hustle and bustle in the back room of a drinks cafe. The owner had them wait a few minutes - painful, everlasting minutes - while they tended to the wave of customers who had surged into the cafe behind them. This wasn't the supplier, not the direct one at least. Acting as a broker, the cafe owner dutifully counted through their offering of the local currency before passing over the case of converters. "Don't take the back door," the owner said quietly as they stood up from the table.</p><p>Rey's hackles raised. Her fingers trailed over the saber hilt on her belt subconsciously. Jessika put a hand on Rey's shoulder to soothe her. "Why's that?" Jessika asked warily. There were any number of reasons why the owner was offering up information freely.</p><p>"There's been too many muggings lately," the owner said, blinking their double set of eyes owlishly. "Wouldn't want you losing those just minutes after picking them up. You can take the Eastern road for three blocks and loop back to the main drag without much trouble if you're worried about anyone trailing you."</p><p>Rey's shoulders relaxed. "Thank you," she replied graciously. Their business was concluded then.</p><p>Outside, she and Jessika exchanged a look. To ignore the owner's advice or not? If it was a trap, Rey didn't much feel like fighting her way through it. Either way they had already avoided the skinny alleyways behind the shops that had seemed to Rey like the biggest threat originally when they were given the plan for today. Jessika bit the tip of her tongue and studied the road they stood on now. "Would be quicker to head back as we came," she said after a moment's consideration.</p><p>With that, the decision was made. Later, Rey would wonder if the other path would have been better. For now it was simply the one that kept them focused on the task at hand rather than the endless possibilities.</p><p>Walking quickly, Rey and Jessika remained vigilant. Jessika pointed out those who seemed to watch their progress a little too intently, her pinky finger gesturing subtly as she gripped the handle of the case with the others. "Let's pause here a moment," she murmured. "My shoe's got a rock in it."</p><p>Jessika dipped down to her knee, one hand digging in her shoe for an invisible pebble while the other surreptitiously disappeared to the small of her back. She didn't get to draw the blaster before the first shots went off, vaporizing chunks of the mosaic sidewalk beneath their feet. Rey grabbed Jessika's shoulders to pull her against a wall as more shots blasted through the air. People screamed and scattered, an explosion of flesh and fabrics.</p><p>"Stay down!" Rey shouted as she tried to identify where the blaster fire was coming from. Her eyes squinted against the light and her focus was split; she couldn't help checking on Jessika every few moments to ensure neither of them had been hit yet.</p><p>They scurried along the wall, following until it diverted into an alleyway. Rey's stomach soured again but they didn't have a choice. Either they allowed themselves to be herded into the side streets or they got a blaster bolt to the back. Rey shoved Jessika to remain behind her as she brought to bear her saber. It helped deflect the shots that got too close to their location. By now Rey was firmly convinced that they were being directed to the South, away from their fighter.</p><p>"Jess," Rey hissed as they took shelter behind several totes of water. "We need to split off."</p><p>Jessika shook her head. "Absolutely not! We don't stand a chance alone!" She flinched as a bolt vaporized a piece of the building above them. The crumbling stone bits rained down on them painfully.</p><p>"We don't stand a chance regardless! They'll probably follow me. With this thing. You head back to the fighter. I'll be there soon enough once I lose them," Rey insisted.</p><p>Jessika's face was pale. Her mouth opened and closed several times until she let out a desperate sound and threw her arms around Rey. "If you don't, we're coming for you. You hear me?"</p><p>It hurt, having to push her away. They just didn't have time to waste on this. "Thanks. Now <em>go!</em>" Rey hissed. She took off down the alleyway, down to where their attackers had funneled them. She kept the saber on, a beacon to give Jessika as much of an advantage as she could. Comms crackled as orders went out to focus on the armed target. Rey allowed herself a bitter smirk before launching herself at the first set of white armor she spotted.</p><p>The Order had been smart to keep their troopers tucked out of sight. No doubt they had some plainclothes on the road watching for Rey and Jessika, but in the end the Order always relied on the apparent strength of the troopers.</p><p>Rey would like to have said that she made quick work of the men and women in the dead-end she had run head first into. She did take down four of them, those who were on the ground floor. But when shots rained from above, her tactics failed her. Fighting a distant enemy wasn't something she knew, not well. She deflected a few bolts but poorly, their trajectories sending them into the sky or the mostly unaffected buildings around them.</p><p>She leaned heavily on the Force, wrenching it to her will as best she could. Without proper teaching it had been a mostly fruitless venture. Her attention snapped from one trooper to another as she focused on taking each out with painful slowness. Her time ran out when a bolt collided with the very base of her saber's beam, knocking the weapon out of her hand and into the air.</p><p>Rey threw herself forward, yanking fiercely on the hilt with her will. The Force didn't obey and slipped through her fingers like so much sand. Her saber remained out of reach and a pair of troopers surged from where they had taken cover to kick her to her knees.</p><p>She opened her mouth to scream, one last ditch chance to catch someone's attention. A gag wrapped around her mouth instead. As she panted, the smell of chemical solvents filled her mouth and nose. Even as she fought to rise to her feet again, her strength waned and she instead dropped into the dirt.</p><p>Then she didn't feel anything else at all.</p>
<hr/><p>Three days. They left her alone in the cell for three days.</p><p>When Rey had awoken she recognized the slick plated walls and light fixtures for what they were. Standard issue First Order. The bench that made up the sole piece of furniture in the cell had rounded edges and corners, the only piece that didn't match the usual design. It took a few hours of plotting and simmering for Rey to realize it was to keep her from doing exactly what she hoped: beating whoever would come to speak to her with the sharp edge.</p><p>The realization only fed Rey's frustration. She picked at every corner of every panel to find something that would provide even the slightest chance of being dangerous. She was in a war with the designers of the cell and losing. Rey turned to demanding to be seen, demanding to be told where she was, demanding to be recognized at <em>all</em>. Her shouts echoed in her cell. It was unclear how much of them were making their way through the thick transparisteel and metal door that separated her from the hall.</p><p>As the hours dwindled, Rey's fire fell into smoldering ash. She hadn't seen anyone outside, not through the five-inch window in the door. There wasn't another window elsewhere. That at least made some sense; no one would put their brig on the outer perimeter of a ship.</p><p>She was certain that she was on a ship, too. The way the floor hummed ever so inconsistently that came from travelling through hyperspace. Rey huddled on her bench, knees to her chest, and wondered exactly where she was being taken.</p><p>Not knowing was horrible. She could feel the minutes and hours slipping by with each breath she took. Her fingernails hooked into her upper arms whenever she thought too hard about what any of this might mean.</p><p>At very least she had water. There was a tiny sink inset with the wall - no wide basin to fill and drown herself - and a dry toilet. Even as her stomach began to complain for the lack of dinner she could keep herself hydrated.</p><p>She might not die of thirst, but she could still starve. Rey sucked in a deep breath and turned her head once again to the door. "What do you kriffing want from me?" she shouted fruitlessly. She didn't want to think about her hunger.</p><p>She could only guess exactly how much time was passing. There was no indication. The lights remained on at the same steady level. While she fought against the dozing off that came initially, Rey realized that sleep would at least serve as a distraction from the gnawing at her stomach.</p><p>Her arms hurt more on the second day. It was an old habit, digging her nails in there, from when she had been a child. Her shoulders would be peppered with tiny, red crescents so often that Plutt would try to pass them off as freckles. They didn't look like freckles now.</p><p>Another day of shouting off and on at an empty hall brought no change. Now Rey worried quiet honestly if the ship even <em>was</em> moving or if she was imagining the pulse of the engines beneath her. What if the ship was adrift and she was forgotten in this cell? That course of thought took up a good portion of Rey's nightmares that afternoon while she huddled on the bench. Well, she could only guess that it was afternoon. The white lights still refused to answer that question.</p><p>Eventually Rey woke up and didn't open her mouth. She didn't drink no matter how her mouth turned to ash. No shouting. No demands. She didn't even budge from the bench. Her fingertips counted the indentations on her upper arms, brushing over the few that had caught and bled leaving a thick scab.</p><p>Her throat hurt even to swallow. Her tongue was heavy and woolen. Every thought bounced in her skull like a bubble, vanishing in a daze of irrationalities.</p><p>At last, though, somewhere in the third day Rey heard a noise. There was a cadence to it, a pattern not unlike a drumbeat. She closed her eyes and strained to discern its source. All too slowly she realized it was the muffled sound of footsteps. When she pried her eyes open once more, she could see through her tiny window the light in the hall wavering. Silhouettes darted past, and Rey's heart jumped to her throat.</p><p>She moved to clamber off of the bench before a distorted voice sounded in the cell. "Do not move, prisoner," it ordered from somewhere in the ceiling above her. Rey froze, her palms still ready to push her to her feet. "Remain seated. Failure to comply will result in privileges being revoked."</p><p>Rey would have laughed if she had the saliva to make any noise. But perhaps her little stunt had been what caused this change; it was worth it, she reasoned.</p><p>"Hands up," the voice said firmly. Rey obliged one at a time, extending her fingers wide.</p><p>Only then did the door's lock click and the metal slide neatly aside to reveal the jackbooted members of the Order who had finally come to collect her. Three troopers, each with their weapons at the ready, and a pair of armorless officers hovered in the hall. One trooper carefully stepped inside.</p><p>"Do not move," they said. Their voice came from the ceiling and their helmet in a weird, disjointed fashion. Rey studied them just the same as they studied her. Apparently satisfied, one of the officers slowly stepped inside as well.</p><p>Rey caught the scent first before she saw what was in the hands of the other officer. Freshly cooked <em>something</em> waiting on a plastic tray. Rey bit the inside of her lip to keep from letting out a noise. She didn't want to give herself away.</p><p>The officer in the cell smirked; clearly Rey wasn't as in control of her tells as she might have liked. "I only have three questions for you today, girl," she said with a clipped accent and a sneer. "First is whether you want to eat. I think I know your answer to that."</p><p>Rey's fingers flexed as she resisted the urge to make a fist. The officer gestured with a hand. "You can answer regardless."</p><p>Slowly, Rey nodded her head once. It was as much of an answer as she could give. It would be a lie to pretend that she didn't want to, that it was only the trio of guns pointed at her chest which had kept her from ripping that tray from the other officer.</p><p>"Second. Will you tell me the current star coordinates of your rebel base of operations?" she asked. It was so to the point and on the nose that Rey actually laughed, the sound wretched and dry as it passed from her lips.</p><p>"Hardly," Rey admitted before starting to cough. Her body doubled over on itself, finally giving voice to her self-imposed dehydration. She wheezed until a white armored hand forced a plastic cup in her face and tipped it harshly against her lips. Rey coughed again, this time from the water now racing down her windpipe. But the little that did manage to pass into her throat was like a balm. She took the cup from the trooper and downed the rest of the water.</p><p>The officer wasn't pleased. "Enough! CP-1856!" she snapped. The trooper knocked the cup now from Rey's grip and pushed Rey bodily against the wall with a single hand. Their other hand re-trained their pistol onto Rey's head. The officer tossed her head and grimaced.</p><p>"My last question, girl. Do you really think that you'll get to eat if you don't tell us where the base is?'</p><p>Rey's heart seized in her chest. She should have known- She definitely <em>did</em> know as soon as she had been seemingly abandoned for so long that this was the plan. Get her desperate. Get her weak and needy. Then the Order would make its demands. Rey pushed feebly against the trooper's grip, ignoring the weapon in her face, and glared hotly at the officer. "Go to hell," Rey rasped. Her throat was still sandpaper but she could at least manage a handful of words.</p><p>The officer clasped her hands behind her back, completely unaffected. "So you would like another day alone then? Or should I set the door locks to the whole three days? They're fantastic like that. Even if someone does feel sympathetic, no one can come take pity on you until the timer's finished," she cooed.</p><p>Another day? <em>Three days?</em> Panic overtook what little self control Rey had managed to maintain a hold on. She squirmed again against the trooper's hold. "No, please, not that," she panted. She couldn't give up the Resistance. She couldn't go another day hungry.</p><p>Maybe Jessika was coming. The thought had been a tiny, glimmering hope for Rey whenever she dared to hope these past few days. But now it was eclipsed by the officer's words. Another three days trapped even if Jess did make it onto the ship to come for her.</p><p>She couldn't go on like this.</p><p>"Make it stop. No more. Make it stop," Rey pleaded.</p><p>The officer's lips peeled back in a shark's smile. "So you'll cooperate then?"</p><p>Rey panted as she realized what she was admitting to. The Resistance base was critical. It would take at least a week for them to remobilize and move off. If the Order got the information now… "I'm waiting," the officer crooned. "I won't wait much longer."</p><p>If the Order knew today about the Resistance and they had been travelling for three days through the galaxy, that meant it would take another… well no, Rey wasn't taking into account all the other ships the Order had.</p><p>The officer scoffed and threw her hands up. "I tried. But we aren't that patient." Suddenly the trooper was backing off and both were leaving the cell. Rey threw herself from the bench to the door as it snapped shut between them.</p><p>"No, please wait!" Rey shouted. Hot tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. Her stomach hurt so much.</p><p>Holding up a single finger, the officer said something too muffled to carry through the glass. Rey slammed her fists against the door, refusing to believe her. She could open the door right now. They didn't have to wait a whole day. They just didn't.</p><p>"Make it stop!" Rey shouted. "I'll cooperate, just let me eat!"</p><p>Another day might not help the Resistance but it sure would have helped Rey.</p>
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